A Wochenspruch Mystery

There are something over 500 examples of the Wochenspruch der NSDAP on the German Propaganda Archive.  It was a weekly poster with inspiring quotations that was displayed in prominent public places throughout Germany.

They were first issued in 1937 (I think), some coming from the individual Gaue, others from the Reichspropagandaleitung in Munich.  This situation continued until early in 1939, when all issues came from Munich — with the exception of Gau Sachsen, which continued to issue its own well into 1941.  I just bought the latest one I’ve seen, dated 6-12 April 1941.

I am curious as to why Gau Sachsen kept producing its own two years longer than anyone else.  Should anyone uncover the reason I’d be delighted to hear it.

Speech by Gauleiter Adolf Wagner (1936)

I’ve been gradually adding to a page of speeches and essays by the Nazi Gauleiter, the regional party bosses.  This material is rather difficult to find, and as always I welcome relevant material that I can add to the site.

Today I add part of a speech by Gauleiter Adolf Wagner, the party’s boss in Munich.  It takes on the Catholic Church for being unwilling to accept Nazism’s claims to total power.

Advice to New Nazis (1933)

I’ve been browsing through my collection of material from Unser Wille und Weg, the Nazi Party’s monthly for propagandists, looking at what happened immediately after Hitler’s takeover in 1933.  Suddenly, the propaganda system had to make dramatic adjustments to new conditions.

The article I add today contains advice for new party members.  They are advised to be modest and respectful of older party members who might be less educated and polished, but who had heeded Hitler’s call before the rest of Germany.

New Nazi Propaganda Methods (1933)

The article I add today was obsolete when published.  It proposes a new method of propaganda, assigning speakers to go house-to-house during the periods between elections.

This was a strategy that had been used during the campaign in Lippe in January 1933, with some success.  The author, Leopold Gutterer, later a high official in the Propaganda Ministry, proposes that the method be applied throughout the country.

However, by the time the article appeared Hitler was Chancellor and the proposal was outdated.

Gau Party Rallies

Anyone familiar with Nazism has heard about the annual Nuremberg Party Rallies.  However, the regional units of the Nazi party (Gaue) often held their own annual gatherings.  They were not as large or impressive as those in Nuremberg, but were still major events.

I’m adding a 1935 article from Unser Wille und Weg, the monthly for Nazi propagandists, that discusses what such Gau rallies should accomplish.  The GPA also has material from a booklet commemorating the 1936 Gautag in Niedersachsen.

Wochenspruch der NSDAP

The Wochenspruch der NSDAP was a weekly poster with inspiring quotations issued between 1937 and 1944.

August 1940

I’m still trying to figure out the full story.  Before mid-1940, many of the individual Nazi Gau propaganda offices issued them, apparently using texts supplied from the Reichspropagandaleitung in Munich — but not all of the time.  Some would release issues that quoted the local Gauleiter, for example.  The same quotations show up in different areas with different dates.  After mid-1940, nearly all were issued by the Munich office, but Gau Sachsen, at least, issued its own until into 1941.

The total number is well over a thousand.  I began with a modest page on them early in the GPA, but I kept buying more, and collectors send me images of others.  The collection grew from one page to two — and now I am splitting it into more pages.  The index page provides full details.  Although a comprehensive listing is probably impossible, but my collection is the most comprehensive available.

Gau Oberdonau, November 1938

If you have ones I do not have, I welcome assistance in building the collection.

Another 1941 Speech by Gauleiter Eigruber

I had a little time this afternoon so I translated another speech by Gauleiter August Eigruber, this one on the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was given two days after Hitler ordered the attack.  Like most German propaganda at the time, Eigruber saw the invasion as a brief interruption in the war against England.

I’d be interested in following Eigruber’s rhetoric as the war went on, but this is the last speech in the book of his speeches that I am working from.  As the Austrian ANNO project continues to add digitized newspapers as the 70-year copyright limit is reached I may be able to find more speeches.